Juarez (For Felix)

Elizabeth M. Villalta

You’ve polished your shoes again and againYou could see your reflection in them hours agoThe iron has been steaming since you walked in the roomAnything at this point is overkillIf the shirt were any crisper, it could cutThe tension, the air of uncertaintyThat’s been hanging around us for monthsEver since we knew we’d be here in JuarezTo be approved for your visa, leaving in joyful tearsReuniting with your family ten years laterOr to be denied, moving to separate countries,me on the right sideof the border while you stayed on the wrong oneSeparated by borders created out of arroganceMan-made lines with the potential to destroy familiesLike ours, star-crossed lovers of our timeBecause you left ten years ago, branded “illegal”By people who have nothing better to do than hateTo follow your heart to meBecause even though you work harder than anyone I knowYour passport is the wrong color,Just like your skin in this “post-racial America”I look over the bridge, down into the crowdWilling you to come out, to give me good newsReality crashes all around me, throngs of familiesThrough tears of joy, of despair as they see their heartFilled with joy or crushed with disappointmentI look over the bridge, silent prayers cascadingFrom my lips to the heavensBegging God for a life with you,A life filled with love, with friendship, with babiesCan you hear me?Do you feel the angels I am calling to your side?Are you cocooned by them?I look over from the bridge, and I see youAnd you turn to me.

Elizabeth M. Villalta is a first generation Salvadoran-American educator and writer. She grew up in Sanford, North Carolina, two blocks from the library, where she spent every afternoon. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from North Carolina State University and a Master's degree in Education from Southern Methodist University. In 2013, she moved to Dallas, TX to join the Dallas-Fort Worth Teach for America corps.In her free time, Elizabeth spends time with her family, friends, and dogs, travels, writes, and reads.